For those of you just joining us, #dblogcheck was an idea I had a couple of years ago that, for a single day, encouraged everyone to leave a comment on every diabetes blog post you read. The motivation behind this was not for pageviews or notoriety, but community. So often it feels like we’re standing on our little social media platforms shouting into the void, wondering if anyone is paying attention.

Of course the reality is that the Internet is made up of a diverse range of interactions. From the hyper connected curators, to the on-the-nose news sharers, to the social butterflies that say hi to everyone, to the lurkers who are paying attention but choose not to say much. #dblogcheck is an opportunity for all of us to come up, look around, and embrace the diabetes community.

Image (linked) from giphy.com

So, I’m nominating Tuesday, March 10 as our next #dblogcheck.

If you have a diabetes blog, share a link to your post with #dblogcheck so we can find you. If you haven’t posted in a while, this is the perfect time to dust off your digital self, reconnect with old friends, and maybe make some new ones.

If you don’t have a blog, use the #dblogcheck to build a new Twitter list of people with diabetes. If you’re on Tumblr, or Google+ or Instagram, use this as a way to increase your diabetes connections. If you stick to Facebook, use #dblogcheck to create a new group of people with diabetes you can confide in. If you’re on Snapchat…I’ve got nothing. That place scares me.

Ultimately, the platform doesn’t matter. What matters is the celebration of diversity within the diabetes community. Take next Tuesday as a chance to recognize what we’ve built, and continue to build upon. And use that hashtag as a starting point.